RUUD van Nistelrooy may be the toast of Manchester United fans...but he isn't even halfway to being a King!

The Reds striker stormed to another great landmark in his thrilling Old Trafford career by netting his 100th goal for the club at Everton on Saturday.

He passed that milestone in his 131st game for United to underline a phenomenal strike record that surpasses United legends like Tommy Taylor, Bobby Charlton and Dennis Viollet.

But if the Dutch ace wants to end up with his statue at the Stretford End, alongside that of 60s hero Denis Law, he still has a long way to go.

Law's incredible record of 100 goals in 111 United games looks like one that could stand for all time.

But van Nistelrooy's sights are firmly set on Law's overall club record of 236 goals in all competitions for the Reds - and if he can continue at his current rate he will pass that mark in August 2007!

Van Nistelrooy is a keen student of United history - he knows all about the Lawman, even without the regular reminder of seeing the United great's daughter Diana, who is the Reds' press officer.

Goals

Law was a phenomenon, especially in the early part of his United career, when the goals flowed like water as he relished his return from the more stifling atmosphere of Italian football with Torino.

Like van Nistelrooy, Law scored on his United debut, taking just seven minutes to casually head in Johnny Giles' clever chip, against West Brom in August 1962.

And he especially relished the challenge of European competition, netting 28 in 33 games - another United record which van Nistelrooy is just one goal away from breaking.

Law was lean, quick, agile and uncommonly brave - in fact, if he had not been so committed to the cause, his goals tally would have been even more formidable. He spent months out injured, and a few more months suspended, and the injuries he sustained saw him slow down towards the end of his career.

But he left an indelible mark on United's history, and earned this tribute from team-mate George Best: "Denis was the best in the business. He could score goals from a hundredth of a chance, never mind half of one".

Lucky

Van Nistelrooy can count himself lucky that he lives in an age of advanced surgery and sophisticated rehabilitation - had heb plied his trade in the 60s, it would have been over before it had truly begun.

The cruciate ligament injury he suffered at PSV Eindhoven in 2000, shortly after failing a medical that postponed his move to United, would have been an end of him.

There were a few who felt van Nistelrooy's dream move to United would never take place after that sickening accident in training, that the insurance premium on a player with such an injury would be prohibitive.

But Sir Alex Ferguson had faith, and showed it by flying to visit van Nistelrooy in hospital and staying in constant touch thereafter.

Such concern made a big impression on van Nistelrooy, and the following year he was back in Manchester, this time getting the all clear from the medical staff.

Van Nistelrooy blew any doubters away within weeks. A goal on his debut in the Charity Shield against Liverpool was followed by two more on his Premiership debut against Fulham a week later.

Avalanche

His goalscoring became an avalanche - and he ended his first season with 36 goals to his name, the best tally since Law's 46 in 1963-64.

At the start of the following season, Bolton boss Sam Allardyce reckoned that van Nistelrooy had been "found out" after having the element of surprise in his first season.

He was wrong. Van Nistelrooy bettered his first-season tally by eight goals, his 44 falling two short of Law's 1964 record - although the Scot did it in just 41 games, in contrast to van Nistelrooy's 51.

Sir Alex was moved to draw comparisons between the two men, saying: "It's harder to score today, it must be. Today Denis would be the perfect model of a player because of the attitude that he had, but Ruud has been phenomenal.

"I'll reserve my judgement on which is the better of the two - I can't go back on my old heroes! They're different types of players but Ruud has been magnificent, he's getting better all the time."

To be second best to Law is no disgrace, and to cast your eyes down the list of players van Nistelrooy has usurped to take that second place is to realise the size of his achievement.

Poignant

It was poignant that van Nistelrooy over-took Tommy Taylor on that list the day after the 46th anniversary of the Munich air crash that claimed the life of the Busby Babes' centre forward along with seven of his team-mates.

Who knows what Taylor, who had just turned 26 when he died, could have gone on to achieve? His team-mate Dennis Viollet survived the crash and went on to bag the record for goals in a season himself with 32 in 1959-60. He had passed the century mark against Red Star Belgrade on February 5, 1958, just hours before the tragedy.

Joe Cassidy lies at fourth in the list, just making it past the 100 mark in his last game for Newton Heath in 1900.

He is a place above Bobby Charlton, who has tipped van Nistelrooy to pass his own league goals record of 199, set in a 17-year career with the Reds.

Sir Bobby said: "He will definitely claim my record. He has the ability, the pace, the strength and the vision, and is a born striker. He is totally focussed from that moment and just homes in on those goals. It makes him a hellishly dangerous striker."